Page 40 of Twisted Fates
Lucious sighed. “I can’t speak for the other residents of your home, but for me, having a witch here, knowing what they do to us, was like a slap in the face.”
I waved my finger, solidifying Lucious’s hand and putting mine on his. “I assure you, Lucious, I didn’t mean to offend you or the others. I am appreciative of all you’ve done for us.”
Lucious seemed shocked by the touch; then he became a bit emotional. He stared at our hands and sighed before pulling back, his physical hand returning to spirit form.
“You should talk to them, not just Orville, but all of them. This has been a safe haven for us for a long time. None of us want to give that up.”
“Is that why you let us see you?” I asked, and slowly, Lucious nodded.
“I-I was like you two,” he said. “Seattle was growing so fast. World War I was over, and buildings were going up everywhere. It was an exciting time. I started going down to Skid Row right after the war ended. I was young, but I knew I liked other men. There was nowhere else to go. I had a boyfriend a lot older than me. I’d just had my twentieth birthday, and he was in his late thirties, but he was wealthy. He owned a few hotels, including the one I worked at. One night, I’d just come out of the casino, one of the few places you could go back then to dance with other guys when I was attacked. I fell, my life slowly pouring out of me, and I saw my lover. Apparently, I had become a liability to him.”
Lucious sighed and shook his head. “I died at the hands of the man I thought I loved. I wasn’t ready to cross over. I wanted to understand what had happened. Why he’d chosen to kill me. I haunted him for the rest of his life and watched,unable to stop him as he did the same thing to three other young men. Finally, I figured out it wasn’t me or the other guys he hated, it was himself, and because the world was unforgiving and hated us because of who we were, he got away with it. The old fart died of old age, never held accountable for what he did.”
Lucious gazed up at me then. “The changes in the world didn’t help me. Nothing did until the wizard opened his home to us. I was able to feel alive again, to come to terms with myself as a homosexual man. Now, you are here, and you are just like me or like I was. I’ve never allowed myself to be seen by the living, not until now, not even with the old wizard. I came here today and am here now with you, allowing you to see me because you represent hope, and I can’t stand the thought of that going away.”
Lucious paused, and I could tell he was imploring me to understand. Owen came around the island, and when he went in for the hug, I did the spell required for Lucious to become physical enough for Owen to make contact.
Tears fell from the ghost’s eyes as Owen pulled him tight. “I’m so sorry, Lucious. Please understand we would never hurt you. Not intentionally.”
As before, when Lucious pulled back, his body reverted to ghost form. “Okay, enough of that, Owen,” he said, pointing toward the tray of rolls. “Those are ready to go into the oven.”
Owen smiled and quickly did as he asked. “Lucious,” I said. “I will speak with the others. Thanks for letting me know.”
I kissed Owen’s cheek, then walked over to the back room, where the stairs led down into the basement, the epicenter of the ghostly home. I felt the pressure build as I descended the steps. By the time I was at the bottom, I was surrounded. Orville stood before me, his face set.
“I’ve come to talk about yesterday,” I said, and a mumble of frustration wafted around the room.
“I know you were upset, and for that, I apologize, but I don’t apologize for inviting one of Owen’s friends over. I spoke with Cook,” I said, instinctively knowing that’s how the ghosts referred to him. “He was afraid I was about to sever our relationship with you, and I will tell you now, nothing is further from the truth. I’m a new wizard. So new, I didn’t understand the relationship between witches and ghosts. Had I understood, I would’ve approached the situation differently, but Owen…Owen lives here too, and he needs friends, relationships. My predecessor set much of this up. He put us in the hands of the witches to help keep us safe. I don’t yet understand his reasoning, but I will,” I said, looking at Orville, who had a better relationship with the old wizard.
He nodded. “You all see it’s as I said, the young wizard is building alliances.”
I was pleased to hear Orville had defended me. “I… I’m only beginning to glimpse the danger we are all in. The dark has been gathering. Elias told me it’s been gathering since long before he departed. They are planning something, and none of us know what, not even him. Alliances are imperative, evenwith the witches. I disapprove of their ways. You should not be forced to cross over until you’re ready.” As images of nasty ghosts filled my mind, I quickly added, “I will only condone the forced removal of a ghost if they are actively disrupting the balance of light and dark or are hurting the living without cause. Like Elias, I will not judge unless I’m forced to.”
I felt the wave of acceptance at my words. These were Elias’s allies, more than any other. I was sure of that, even though I hadn’t spoken to him yet. However, I most certainly would today.
“Okay, so are we forgiven?” I asked the room, although I was facing Orville.
I felt nods all around me, then sighed. “Okay, I’m going to get out of your hair, but from now on, please, let me know if you have concerns. You can go through Orville, or you know, set up a time to come sit with me. With the sheer number of you, I don’t think I can handle you coming in and out without boundaries, but Orville, Emma, and Alice are all good resources. If you need to speak with me, and probably even Owen, just set up a time to do so.”
Orville was smiling, so I figured I’d said the right thing. I waved and returned up the stairs, feeling like I had.
Lucious and Owen were still chatting in the kitchen, so I wandered up to the attic and pulled out the parchment. Time to have Elias fill me in on the ghosts of my home, even if it was a little late. Late was better than never.
Chapter twenty-eight
Owen
Lucious and I hadan immediate connection. I mean, he was only a little younger than me when he died, but now, considering he was over a century old, he was significantly older than me and had grown up the second generation of a pioneer family who’d settled in the Midwest, there was still symmetry in the coming out process. I’d grown up in Illinois, and he’d grown up around southern Iowa, but our eras were vastly different.
It was fun to compare notes though. At least now he’d stopped being afraid we were out to get him and his friends.
By the time I helped him get the dishes cleaned up, and he took the rolls away—I assumed to the mysterious others Orville had mentioned or maybe to the basement for the ghosts to enjoy—Damian was back in the attic. I could sense he needed time, so I went to my little bedroom to study and opened my laptop to get a head start on work for next week.
Shadow hadn’t contacted me again, which was disappointing. Maybe when Molly came around again, I could ask her for details. I could use a boost with the firm, especially now I understood I was the only one there who wasn’t a witch.
I didn’t know if being a witch helped with the practice of law, but I had to assume it did. If most of the clients for our firm were magical, I’d need to bring in the nonmagical kind if I wanted to keep working there.
Once I got a lot of the work done that the partners, aka Cary, had given me for the week, I began exploring where to get more clients. Then I got the idea of putting out an ad. I’d speak with Cary about that on Monday. Maybe he could help me fashion it so the partners approved.
